Summary
This proposal seeks to introduce Nethermind as a service provider to the 1inch DAO, with the objective of enhancing the technical assessment of grant seeking projects under review by the 1inch DAO.
Abstract
The 1inch DAO currently depends on the 1inch Foundation team to assess grant applications, diverting them from their primary objectives. To address this issue, we would like to introduce Nethermind as a dedicated service provider for technical grant analysis.
Motivation
Our aim in partnering with 1inch DAO is to bring a technical perspective to the grant review process for grants passing through 1inch DAO. Currently, certain grants face delays due to the absence of a specialized technical team available for review. This hinders the grant program from contributing to the growth of the 1inch ecosystem.
We aim to streamline the evaluation process and ensure that projects receive a prompt and thorough assessment before advancing to a vote, giving voters an objective and thorough understanding of a proposal. This will facilitate a smoother and more efficient grant review process within the 1inch DAO.
Review Process
Jordan or Natalia from the 1inch team will trigger a review by submitting a request to Nethermind through a mutually agreed upon communication channel.
Nethermind will make a reasonable effort attempt to deliver a comprehensive review within three weeks from the time a proposal has been sent to us for review. This timeline will depend on a number of unforeseeable factors including scope of the review and our internal resource availability. External communication with the 1inch team and contributors will also be necessary for certain proposals, as will communication with the proposing team- both potential bottlenecks in the delivery timeline. We expect that at longest, we should be able to complete any review within two months.
Should our initial assessment indicate that a grant review might extend beyond the two month timeframe, we will promptly notify the DAO. In this notification, we will detail our reasons for the extension, ensuring transparent dialogue throughout the review process.
Nethermind will publish completed reviews as a separate post on the public forums and answer follow-up questions.
Evaluation
Because no two grants are the same, a one-size-fits-all template would be impractical. Nonetheless, our reviews will consistently address the following key topics: (1) Technical assessment, (2) Feasibility, (3) Budget evaluation, and (4) Workload anticipated to fulfill the proposal by the 1inch team (when applicable and when specifically requested in the review request).
Nethermind resource areas to be made available for this engagement include cryptographic research, defi research, smart contract engineering, and full stack engineering. While we have a wide range of experts in the crypto/blockchain space, in the event that a proposal or portion of a proposal falls outside our range of expert knowledge, we will notify the DAO. Throughout the engagement, Nethermind is committed to objective transparency.
Compensation Structure and Timeline
Nethermind’s fee structure for providing services to the 1inch DAO is as follows:
- $7200/month minimum payment for up to 40 research and engineering hours per month. Paid monthly in advance.
- Any overages above 40 hours will be added to the next month’s invoice at a rate of $180/hour. Capacity over 40 hours per month cannot be guaranteed.
- The anticipated engagement start date is May 1, 2024, but not sooner than two months after a successful DAO vote.
- Anticipated engagement duration: 6 months (see below for further explanation)
- At the end of month 6, because of the upfront payment structure, only overages will be invoiced.
We kindly request payment on the first business day of each month. If work exceeds 40 hours, the overage will be added to the next month’s invoice. This fee structure and payment schedule will ensure transparency, efficiency, and timely compensation for our services to the 1inch DAO, and will allow us to work on an ad hoc basis. Due to the high demand for our work, Nethermind researchers and engineers are consistently at full capacity. To ensure availability of these resources to the 1inch community, we require a minimum commitment each month. We are glad to communicate if/when we expect any overages in a given month, so that there are no surprise invoices. Nethermind has established this structure on the expectation of 1-2 review requests per month. In the event of an influx of reviews requiring hours well beyond 40 per month, we cannot make any guarantees that we will have the capacity, but will work with the 1inch team and DAO on mutually agreeable solutions. As each grant review will vary in complexity, we will maintain complete transparency by recording our hours in a Google Sheet, providing a description of the work we perform.
DAO Logistics and Payment
We request the transfer of $50,000 from the 1inch DAO to the 1inch operations multi-sig, for an anticipated- but not guaranteed due to potential overages- runway of six months. Once the $50,000 balance reaches a threshold of $20,000 or less, we will begin to work with the 1inch DAO towards a new proposal, armed with more knowledge on the workload and expectations. Before the end of the estimated six month engagement, we will have a better understanding of the time and resources required for reviews, as well as the needs of the DAO, and hope to work towards a longer-term agreement suitable for all parties.
1inch Operations Multi-sig address: 0x45e84e10e8E85c583C002A40007D10629EF80fAF
Nethermind’s multi-sig address: 0x237DeE529A47750bEcdFa8A59a1D766e3e7B5F91
Rationale
Engaging Nethermind as a service provider for the 1inch DAO will significantly enhance the efficiency and efficacy of the grant process. This partnership ensures that the 1inch DAO will consistently have a dedicated team available to assess grants, thereby preventing potential delays or blockers in the grant review process, and substantially increasing the quality of output by the DAO. We hope this is the first step towards a long and fruitful collaboration.
Next Steps
We welcome community feedback so we can answer any questions. After we have answered all questions, we will move to the following process:
Temp check
Snapshot Vote
About Nethermind
Nethermind is a team of world-class builders and researchers. We collaborate with a global developer community and partners to advance the Ethereum, Starknet, and broader blockchain industry. Our work spans Layer 1 and Layer 2 Engineering, Cryptography Research, Infrastructure Management, Smart Contract Security, and Application-Layer Protocol Development.
Blockchain Core Engineering
We are active builders of the Ethereum and Starknet protocols, closely aligning our development and research work with their roadmaps. The Nethermind client supports Gnosis Chain, the OP-stack and Energy Web. Our ecosystem contributions for Starknet include Juno, an open-source full-node implementation, and Voyager, a block explorer and API platform.
Protocol & Enterprise Engineering
We specialize in DeFi, covering DEXs, AMMs, and complex structured products. Our projects include decentralized KYC’d derivatives trading, asset tokenization, and institutional-grade staking. Our engineering teams work closely with clients to create customized Web2 and Web3 software solutions, such as crypto asset analytics, treasury management, trading automation, on-chain wallet monitoring, and token onboarding.
Nethermind Research | Cryptography, DeFi, and Protocol Research and Research Solutions
Our research team consists of cryptographers, protocol experts, and DeFi researchers, and as such, can tackle complex research challenges. The cryptography team has expertise across a wide range of domains, including cryptographic protocols, zero-knowledge proofs, distributed validator technology (DVT), decentralized identity, verifiable credentials, consensus design, Sybil and white labeling resistance, and oracles. Our protocol research experts are blockchain and financial professionals specializing in DeFi & blockchain protocol research for institutional clients.
Nethermind Security | Smart Contract Auditing, Real-Time Monitoring, and Formal Verification
Nethermind Security is the security arm of Nethermind, providing services related to Smart Contract Audits, Formal Verification, and Real-Time Monitoring. Our work includes Solidity and Cairo smart contract auditing, building protocol-specific custom Forta Network detection bots, and formal verification services across ZK-circuit, EVM-based smart contract, and Starknet smart contract verification.